Brake-beam



L "Nrrnn Stratus ADAM H. MCALPINE, OF COLUMBUS, OHIO.

BRAKE-BEAM.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 289,431, dated December 4, 18E3.

Application filed August 24, 1883. (No model.)`

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that l, ADAM: H. MCALPINE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Columbus, in the county of Franklin and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Brake-Beams, of which the following is a specification.

In the ordinary construction of railroad-car brakes the shoes which bear against the faces of the wheels have been secured to transverse brake-beams of wood. These wooden brakebeams are heavy, cumbersome, and perishable.

A brake-beam composed of proper metal, disposed in the best form to unite strength and lightness, and so constructed that it `can be readily substituted for the wooden beam now in use without changing the castings and other partsof the brake, is a desideratum.

My invention relates to such a brake-beam; and it has for its object to provide a substantial, durable, and economical brake-beam for railway-cars, that can be readily substituted for the wooden ones now in general use, as well as to improve the manner of attaching the brake-shoes and the operatinglevers and to these endsvmy invention consists in constructing a brake-beam of wroughtiron or steel, having strengthening-ribs in the direction of the strain, and in attaching the brakeshoes to the beam with adjustable springs, and alsovattaching the beam to the brake-levers by means of spring-connections, all as more particularly pointed out hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which like letters re fer to like parts, Figure 1 is a top view of a brake-beam broken away at one side of the middle. Fig. 2 is a side view of the same. Fig. 3 is an end view of the brake-beam with a brake-shoe attached. Fig. 4 is a sectional view through the beam, showing the head on the brake-rod lever attached, and Fig. 5 is a view of the head detached and partly in section. y

The brake-beamAis constructed of wroughtiron or steel insuch a manner as to be inter-` changeable with the ordinary wooden beam now in general use, so that the same castings may be utilized, andthe beam can thus be substituted for those in ordinary use, thereby securing the benefits of a wrought-iron beam with very little labor and expense;` The beam consists of a central rib, c, having the iianges b Z1, of equal width, on onel side extending throughout its length, and having on the other side the iianges c. c, arranged directly opposite the flanges b b, and made tapering from the center toward each end. By this construction the greatest strength is secured with the least amount of metal, and the material is so disposed that the beam is strongest at the point of greatest strain. To the center of the beam is attached the head B, for holding the levers of the brake-rods. The head consists of a main portion, f, having lugs or projections g g, between which the end of the brake-rod lever is secured, and a projecting stem, 71., provided with a screw-thread, for the reception of the nut i. The head is secured to the beam by means of the plate d, shaped so as to iit closely upon the flanges b b, and having the screw-bolts c c passing through the rib c. Between the plate d, which may be properly recessed, as shown in Fig. 5, and the nutt' is placed a spiral spring, la. By this construction it will be seen that the head is secured to the beam by a spring-connection, and that the tension of the springmay be controlled by adjusting the nut i. Other forms of springs might be used, but the form shown is simple and effective. secured the brake-shoes D D. These may be of any ordinary construction, and may be secured to the beam in the usual manner, or may have a spring-connection between the shoe and the beam, as shown in Fig. 3, so as to allow the face of the shoe to adjust itself to the unequal sides of the wheel, so as to obtain a perfect bearing, and thereby prevent the sliding of the wheels.

Instead of applying the beam-head to the beam, as shown, a spring may be interposed between the brake-rod lever and the head.

It will be seen by the construction set forth the beams may be substituted for the ordinary wooden beams now in use, as no change in the other parts of the brake apparatus will be required, and the spring-connections described allow the beam and its attached shoes to be selfadjusting to the unequal sides of the wheels, whereby the sliding of the wheels is "To the ends of the beam are f prevented and the consequent wear and tear avoided.

` metal provided with four iianges, two on each` side, those on the same side lbeing -of `the; same width, but of different width from those It is evident that the main features of .this device :may .be -modied vmorezorless without departing from the spirit of the invention.

on the other side, in combination with a brakelever head attached to the beam at or near the center thereof', and brake -shoes attached :at

the ends thereof.

l2. .A brake-beam consisting -of a bar of rolled metal provided `with Afourflanges, `two on one side of eqnalwidth `llthroughout,:and

twoonthe lother side Itap'erinlg itoward yeach Kend, lsubstantially as'fdescribed.

scribingwitnesses.

3. The combination, with a brake-beam consisting ofarolled bar ot' metal provided with four flanges, tapered, as described, of a head for connecting the brake-rod lever,'secured to the beam by screwbolts, substantially as described.

4. The combination, with abrake-beam conssting of a rolled bar of metal provided with .four flanges, as described, of a head for the brake-lever, consisting of a plate, d, bolted to the beam, and the body f, having the projecltion h, carryinganut, and a spring interposed between the nut and the head, for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof Ihave signed myname to this specification in the presence oi' two sub- ADAM II. MCALPINE.

Witnesses:

F. E. BREEN, M. S. S. RoDGERs. 

